Grant Sawyer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frank Grant Sawyer (December 14, 1918 - February 19, 1996) was a Governor of Nevada. He was a Democrat.

Sawyer was born in Twin Falls, Idaho Dec.14, 1918,son of two Osteopaths,Doctors Harry W. and Buela Cameron Sawyer. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.He attended Linfield College, the University of Nevada at Reno and The George Washington University Law School. He served as the governor between 1959 and 1967. He ran for reelection but was defeated in 1966. He died in Las Vegas of complications from a stroke Feb.19,1996.His Wife,Bette Norene Hoge Sawyer whom he married in 1946 died Sept.11,2002,both buried at Palm valley view memorial park in Las Vegas.Grant Sawyer served two turbulent terms as Nevada's governor from 1959 to 1966. Sawyer was an advocate of progressive change. By the late fifties he had come so far from his start in the conservative political machine of Senator Patrick McCarran that many powerful Nevadans considered his policies on education, the environment, and civil rights to be dangerously radical. When he demanded meaningful regulatory control over casino gaming and took decisive action to purge the industry of its mob connections, the establishment's resistance stiffened. Eventually, Sawyer's positions brought him into open conflict with special interests and led to a collision with the justice department of the federal government, but he never backed down. {{succession box

This article about a Nevada politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

before=Charles H. Russell|
title=Governors of Nevada|
years=1959-1967|
after=Paul Laxalt

Governors of Nevada
Blasdel • Bradley • Kinkead • Adams • Stevenson • Bell • Colcord • Jones • Sadler • Sparks • Dickerson • Oddie • Boyle • Scrugham • Balzar • Griswold • Kirman • Carville • Pittman • Russell • Sawyer • Laxalt • O'Callaghan • List • Bryan • Miller • Guinn • Gibbons